Moving On
by FLUFF-N-UTTER-1
Summary: Abby and Connor find a flat of their own, but not all baggage needs to be brought with them, friends, a house warming and an anomaly. Mrs. Lester returns. (6.3)
1. Old Flame

**Disclaimer: Primeval does not belong to me, this is fan fiction, not for profit.**

**Any references to people, places, businesses etc is entirely fictitious.**

6.3 – Moving On

Abby and Connor were walking along the sidewalk, chatting and laughing together. As they reached the realtor's office, he opened the door and Abby stepped inside followed closely by Connor.

The receptionist smiled a greeting and motioned for them to sit. At that moment however, the door to the realtor's private office opened. She and another woman stepped into the main room.

Beside her, Abby felt Connor stiffen. Then, he moved to stand in front of her, stepping backwards on her toes.

"Ow! Connor," she said.

"Quietly Abby," he said in a strained voice.

She was forced to move further back into the lobby, as he continued to keep his body in between her and the main office. "What'cha doing Connor?"

"Connor," a strange female voice cried sharply in recognition.

Abby listened in puzzlement, that wasn't the realtor's voice she thought. Peeking her head around Connor's shoulders she looked in the direction of the voice. It was the brunette standing with their realtor she realized.

"Connor Temple," said the brunette, "I haven't seen you in ages." The woman's mouth opened, she licked her lips.

Abby's eyebrows went up in puzzlement. Who was this woman and how did she know Connor?

"Didn't feel the need," her fiancé responded stiffly, his words clipped short and bordering on a tone of rudeness.

As the woman stalked towards them, Abby felt the gentle push of Connor's body against hers. He was keeping himself between them she realized. She looked up at him, his jaw was clenched, and his eyes were warily watching every step the brunette took. It was almost, Abby thought, like when Connor watched out for creatures when they were in the Cretaceous.

The woman stopped directly in front of Connor. Reaching upwards, she cupped the side of his face with her hand. "Miss me," she asked.

"No."

The woman's face twisted suddenly, her smile changing into a snarl for a brief moment. The long dark red fingernails dug in slightly as she moved her hand downward. Abby couldn't tell if the motion was meant to be a caress or if the woman was clawing Connor. Either way, she didn't like it.

"Oi," she said, stepping around Connor to face the woman directly

The woman looked at Abby in surprise. She started to say something, but the realtor reached her at that moment. Grasping the brunette firmly by the elbow, the older woman hustled her out the door, calling "And we'll let you know if we get any vacancies. I've got your number."

Shutting the door with a resounding thump, the realtor turned and came back into the building, brushing her hands one against the other.

"Now," she smiled warmly at the pair "let's get you those keys and have you sign the lease agreement."

Connor and Abby looked at each other in surprise. The realtor didn't have any vacancies? They had seen over twenty different flats last weekend, and a few more each day this week, until they found the home they wanted. With a shrug of shoulders, and a muttered hmmph, they followed the realtor back into the office.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

Leaving the realtor's office, keys in hand, Connor was chatting excitedly, planning their move the next day. It wasn't until they turned the corner, headed towards Jess' flat that Abby spoke.

"Connor," she said quietly "who was that woman?"

Connor froze. He didn't say a word.

"Is she an old girlfriend perhaps," Abby continued. She really hadn't thought of Connor having girlfriends before… besides Caroline… she shuddered.

"Not polite to kiss and tell…"

"Oh, so you did kiss her?" Abby interrupted. "Then she is an old girlfriend…" she began to tease, but stopped when she saw Connor's face. He looked miserable. Oh. Oh no…

"Should I be jealous," she asked suddenly serious.

"No, no, not ever…" declared Connor looking at her with those big brown eyes opened wide in shock. He seemed to be searching for words… "Abby," he started, "you remember me telling you about a bit of a hassle with me flat years ago…"

Abby nodded.

"She was the hassle," he said simply, as if that explained anything. Abby just looked at him uncomprehendingly.

Connor closed his eyes. Thinking, he was trying very hard to say this the right way. He could almost hear Stephen giving him advice… she's got to know… it's ended.

"We lived together for a while my last year at uni. One day I came back to the flat and she had taken everything and left."

"She dumped you?" said Abby in disbelief.

"Yeah. We'd been arguing… arguing a lot, about everything it seemed… she didn't like my friends… it wasn't working out really," he admitted.

"She's a silly git," said Abby softly "to let you get away."

Connor looked up at her words. He smiled and reached to take her hand. As they walked along the sidewalk heading back towards Jess' for one last Friday night in before they moved into their new home, Abby couldn't resist teasing him one more time.

She asked "Connor, do you think we should invite her to the wedding?"

He stumbled, and almost fell, tripping over his own two feet. He looked at Abby appalled.

"No," he replied firmly, "I don't want her there, and me Mum would have a row with her… she never did give back me Gran's furniture."

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_


	2. Warmth

**Disclaimer: Primeval does not belong to me, this is fan fiction, not for profit.**

**Any references to people, places, businesses etc is entirely fictitious.**

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

Dinner and board games with friends; Jess was surprised at how much she had been looking forward to this evening.

It had been Abby's turn to cook, but she opted to bring in family size dishes of Tikka Marsala, Navarattan Korma Curry and Vindaloo from Haveli's, with lots of garlic naan. Between bites of take away, Connor and Abby had told Jess and Becker about the flat that was to be their new home. Becker and Jess had readily offered to help the couple with things the next morning.

Although the friends had stuffed themselves full, there were plenty of leftovers. It was enough food to feed the four of them plus at least that many more, thought Jess. She and Abby had moved into the kitchen to put away leftovers while Connor and Becker were setting up the board game at the table.

"Thought you were going to cook," said Jess as she scraped Vindaloo into a plastic container. "This is great, but restaurant food gets expensive quickly…"

"Don't really know how to cook," admitted Abby. "Not like you," she said thinking of the tasty meal Jess had prepared for the group last Friday.

Grabbing the kettle, she moved to the sink and began to fill it. "Never really had a chance to learn growing up," she continued "I can put the kettle on and heat prepared foods, but…" her voice trailed off.

Jess stared at Abby in surprise. Thinking of her own childhood, mother, sisters and gran all gathered together in the kitchen laughing and taking turns stirring, and tasting, the many and varied concoctions they created, she thought Abby had missed out on something special.

"I'll teach you," Jess offered "If you like."

"That would be wonderful!" Abby accepted gratefully.

Jess looked at Abby's smiling face. Moving to the cupboard, she grabbed the flour and turned to face Abby.

"No time like the present," she said brightly "let's start with a quick and easy dessert. It can bake while we're playing the game Becker brought, and we'll have it afterwards."

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

In the living area, Becker and Connor had finished setting up the game. Jess had called from the kitchen, saying it would be a few minutes yet… she and Abby were putting something together to go in the oven.

Becker and Connor stared at each other.

"So," began Becker "you picked up the keys today, yeah?"

"Yeah," responded Connor his face flushing a little at the memory. Becker's eyes narrowed, what, he wondered, brought on that reaction.

"Connor," he asked slowly "what happened?"

"It's just…" stammered Connor "ran into an old girlfriend."

Becker's attention was fully focused on Connor's words now. Caroline's name was still on the ARCs security threat list.

"What's Caroline up to these days," he asked, trying to sound casual.

"Not Caroline," responded Connor "think I would rather have run into Caroline again… never wanted Abby to meet that one." He sighed, remembering.

_She'd dumped him, and quite frankly that had been a relief. It should have been the end of it, but a week later his landlord Navneet had come to pay him a visit, followed closely by his wife. They had to have been watching out the window, he thought, to catch him on the steps before he even inserted his key._

"_Connor," Navneet suggested carefully "it might be best if you found another place to live." _

"_What," he exclaimed in surprise, "The rent's already paid up…"_

"_She's been back," Navneet explained._

"_She still has a key," added Sangeetha worriedly "we could change the locks, but… it might not be enough."_

_Connor opened the door to survey the latest damage. Well, at least he still had his laptop, the clothes he was wearing and the contents of his messenger bag._

Becker listened to Connor's tale, thinking there's another name to add to the security list.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

Jess and Abby entered the room at that moment.

"So now," began Jess "what's this game called?"

"And how do you play," added Abby.

"Risk," replied Becker "it's a strategy game, and..."

"We roll dice," interrupted Connor excitedly "and move armies… try to take over the world."

Jess and Abby turned to look at each other, trying not to laugh, at least not too hard.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

They had agreed to stop the game for dessert, and then called it an early night. Dessert, brownies with ice cream on top, had been delicious, but they all knew they needed to get an early start the next morning.

Jess had volunteered to go pick up Connor's sister at the train station. Becker had said that he was sure Hendricks and Stephenson would be glad to help. Many hands would make quick work of moving what little furniture they owned into their new home.

The foursome had agreed to another game night, same time next week, at Abby and Connor's new home, and Jess had volunteered to bring the game.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

As she and Connor got ready for bed, Abby thought over the days events. Something was still bothering her.

She had thought that Caroline was Connor's first girlfriend, but remembering back to his conversation with Leek all those years ago, she remembered he didn't accept Leeks grouping him into the same loser category with Leek. I do all right with girls… he'd said… describing himself as choosy. And when she had tried to coach him on flirting with women, he'd resisted… telling her he thought he could talk to women. And truthfully, when she thought about it… the only woman he ever really seemed to have a hard time talking with… had been her. She looked across the room at the attractive man that was her fiancé, smart, kind, caring… nope… just because she had been foolish, initially rebuffing his advances, didn't mean other women hadn't noticed him.

"Connor," she began "are there any other old girlfriends I should know about?"

"What," he squawked as he pulled his shirt off over his head.

"I said…" she began.

"Heard what you said," he replied stepping closer to her, "just don't know why you're asking is all…"

"Well," she hesitated, remembering her parents and thinking about the minister and the list of topics from the couples counseling class, "was there anything you thought I should know…"

"Thought you already knew," he replied simply.

"What?"

He reached a hand out to her shoulder touching the slender silk strap of her camisole briefly, before stroking down the length of her arm, to pick up her hand and bring it to his lips. As his brown eyes gazed into her blue ones, she felt a warmth spreading through her body. He kissed her hand gently.

"Love you," he said softly.

A trembling smile spread across her face. There was just one more thing she had to ask. "Do you ever wonder about my old boyfriends?"

She heard the sudden intake of his breath, saw his eyes close tight. She could have kicked herself. She should never have asked…

It was a moment before his eyes reopened and he responded.

"You could have any man you wanted," he began "I know that… but you asked me to marry you… I reckon that means something… I just… try not to think about…"

Her eyes widened at his words, after all this time, did he really not know she wondered.

Abby withdrew her hand from his grasp, placing it on one side of his chest. She brought her other hand up to touch the other side of his chest, then continued to gently slide her fingers upwards… slowly across his body, up his neck, tracing his jaw line lightly before reaching to grasp the back of his head and pull his face down closer to her.

"Connor, you are the only man that matters," she whispered "…to me."


	3. Hottie

**Disclaimer: Primeval does not belong to me, this is fan fiction, not for profit.**

**Any references to people, places, businesses etc is entirely fictitious.**

Connor and Abby quickly climbed up the steps from the sidewalk to the flat entrance. Abby's hands were shaking with excitement as she tried to insert the key into the lock. Connor reached over and put his hands over hers, helping to still the sudden trembling. The key inserted, the lock turned and the door clicked open. Abby started to step forward into the flat, when Connor stopped her.

"Abs," he said with mock indignation "just a minute there now."

She looked at him as if he had lost his mind. "Connor," she started "the others will be here soon, we have to get the place opened up…"

He bent and scooped her up into his arms.

"What'cha doing?" she squealed.

"Gonna carry you over the threshold," he said matter of factly.

"You don't do that until after the wedding, Connor. That's not for another couple of months."

He just looked at her. "Right then," he said "this is practice." He stepped forward, carrying Abby into their new home. "Think I should get a kiss as me reward for that now," he added cheekily.

She looked into his eyes, alight with expectation. He was still holding her, so it was a little awkward, but she managed to twist and put her hands to either side of his face. Leaning in closer, she whispered, "Connor Temple, I think you're right."

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

They were still kissing when they heard a soft knock on the door frame. Jess, who had gone to the train station to fetch Connor's little sister, was standing there grinning. So was Connor's sister.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

Abby was amazed at the number of people coming to help them.

Jess and Connor's sister were in the kitchen, scrubbing and lining drawers with paper. Becker, Hendricks and Stephenson showed up with the van from the storage facility not long after their arrival. Connor had gone out to meet them and they started unloading boxes and furniture from their old flat. Thank goodness, thought Abby that Lester had sent their things to storage. And thank goodness it wasn't raining yet, she thought eying the darkening sky.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

She was still standing at the front door, directing the guys as to where to set the furniture and boxes down when Connor's sister came up behind her.

"Abby," she said softly, "Jess wants to know…"

Whatever Jess wanted to know was lost in a loud crash as Connor backed off the van's loading ramp, stepping wrong and losing both his balance and his boxes as he crashed down to the sidewalk.

"Ooh," Abby hissed, hoping he hadn't hurt himself and that nothing breakable had been in the boxes. "There he goes, clumsy as usual," she added to Connor's sister.

"He wasn't always," she whispered.

"What?" replied Abby in confusion. Turning to look at the young woman, Abby was surprised to see tears welling up in her brown eyes.

"Back before the accident," she said "he wasn't clumsy."

"What accident?" asked Abby.

Now it was the younger woman's turn to look at Abby in confusion. "Hasn't he ever told you" she asked "about when Dad died?"

Connor rarely talked about his father's passing, thought Abby, wondering what that had to do with Connor's tendency to trip at the least little thing, and she said as much to Connor's sister.

"Oh," she replied, her eyes widening in surprise, "then you don't know… the van hit both of them."

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

Becker and Hendricks had got Connor seated at the front door. His sister had made an ice pack for his ankle, which was now propped up on an overturned wastebasket. Connor was now happily directing the soldiers where to set the furniture and boxes down, while Abby and Connor's sister moved into the kitchen to help Jess set it to rights.

In between unwrapping plates, and putting away groceries, Abby and Jess heard the young woman's story.

An end of summer family vacation… in the highlands… a bike trip gone horribly wrong.

"I was too young, the touring company wouldn't let me ride for an all day trip," she explained, "so Mum and I went hiking the trails behind the inn, while Dad and Connor went on the bike tour. I've still got the picture taken that morning as they set off…"

"I've never thought of Connor as the athletic type," commented Jess with a surprised tone.

"Well, he played soccer with the team from school, he was never going to be great," Connor's sister conceded, "but he did all right. As a family, we all used to go biking at the park on Saturdays, Connor and Dad used to race some… and he was a pretty good dancer."

"He still is a good dancer," interjected Abby.

The young woman smiled at her. "Well, he ought to be," she said "after all the practice we did…"

"What?" asked Abby.

"There was a dance, at school every fall… Connor wanted to take a girl he liked… they had been going to dance lessons together… but, he needed a partner to practice with at home… so we both learned that summer," she explained.

Abby smiled at the younger woman's words… she could almost see the pair twirling across a living room.

"Mum and I got back to the inn early," she continued. "We were on the porch… saw it all." She shuddered and her next words gave both Abby and Jess goose bumps.

From what the other bikers had said, the tour guide had wanted to hurry the group back to the inn… had insisted on taking a short cut… the last kilometer on the main road to the inn. Connor and his father were racing, directly behind the tour guide, everyone else was further back, straggling to keep up. A white panel van had come around the curve, fast, too fast.

"I remember running after Mum, down the driveway… I couldn't keep up," she shivered. "There was so much blood. The tour guide was killed instantly… it seemed to take forever for the ambulances to arrive."

She stopped speaking for a moment, then continued "Mum rode in the first ambulance with Dad, she told me to watch out for Connor… keep him talking… I tried…" her eyes welled up with tears, "I rode in the second ambulance with him… I really tried, but I couldn't…"

Abby reached her arm around the young woman. "Not your fault," she whispered, "not a thing you could do…" Nor she finally realized was there anything she herself could do watching out for her own brother.

"By the time we arrived at the hospital, Connor was unconscious," Connor's sister said. "Mum met us at the ambulance, and I knew then that Dad was dead. Gran arrived later that evening to take me back to the inn, but Mum stayed with Connor. He was in a coma for three days…"

Abby was half listening now, lost in her own thoughts, wondering … was this why Connor's mum had been so harsh when they'd met at the hospital?

Something in the younger woman's next words though caught her attention.

"What," she asked.

"I said," she repeated "when we all got back home, Connor was home schooled for the next year… it took several months for him to relearn how to walk."

Abby just stared, her blue eyes wide and filling with tears at the thought.

Connor's sister turned her head, looking towards the front room, at the sound of a familiar voice. The women in the kitchen could hear Connor greeting Duncan. She smiled.

"Duncan came every Thursday after school to visit," she mentioned. "He came other times too, but Thursday was Blakes 7… they always watched that together. Tom used to come too… he was the only one from the soccer team that ever came to visit Connor. That girl he liked… she never came, not once."

Turning to Abby, she smiled broadly, pearly white teeth showing and said "Her brother and I were in the same form, I still run into her from time to time… when I'm back home next… I'm going to make a point to tell her about how happy Connor is here with you."

Abby blinked. For a moment, the tone in the voice of that sweet young woman sounded almost exactly like her mother. Abby shivered.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

Duncan took that moment to enter the kitchen. He was carrying a large layer cake.

"Me Mum sent this," he explained sheepishly. Abby took the cake dish out of his hands and set it carefully on the kitchen counter.

"Thank you Duncan," she replied "I'll be sure the dish gets back to her…"

'Oh no," Duncan interrupted, looking flustered. "The dish is for you to keep. Me Mum said it's a house warming gift."

He fumbled in his pockets, searching, and finally retrieving a folded piece of paper. "And this recipe," he continued "she said the cake is Connor's favorite, and thought you might like a copy."

Abby accepted the recipe with a smile. Looking at Jess conspiratorially, she mouthed a question, "Maybe next week?" Jess grinned back at her, nodding in agreement.

They heard Connor greeting another arrival. Then Edie was squeezing her way past Duncan, into the kitchen. She presented Abby with a vase of irises, almost the same shade as her hair. Turning her head, Edie watched as Duncan left the kitchen to return to where the men were gathering.

"Who's the hottie?" she asked Abby.


	4. Combustible

**Disclaimer: Primeval does not belong to me, this is fan fiction, not for profit.**

**Any references to people, places, businesses etc is entirely fictitious.**

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

Thankfully, the rain was still holding off.

Matt and Emily stopped by. It was just supposed to be just a few minutes, as they were on their way to the museum, but when he had seen that Connor was sitting, nursing a sprained ankle, Matt just shook his head. Again, really?

Then, he took of his jacket and started to give Becker, Hendricks and Stephenson a hand moving the heavy stuff inside the flat. Emily came into the kitchen carrying a brightly wrapped and beribboned box.

"Ooh, good news," exclaimed Emily as she set the gift down next to the beautiful vase of flowers that Edie had brought. The other women looked at each other a little uncertainly. Emily stepped to the sink and looked through the multi-paned glass into the tiny garden. She gave a happy sigh at what met her eyes. "Perfect."

"What's perfect Emily," asked Jess.

"The garden," she replied, "arborvitae, primroses, lilac and it looks like a pear tree starting to blossom in the corner. It's full of wonderful feelings." She smiled broadly at the group.

"Emily," began Abby, "what do you mean… the garden is full of feelings?"

Now it was Emily's turn to look puzzled, "Well… surely you know," she began "flowers have meaning. For example, the iris in that vase… it signifies good news."

"Oh, you mean like roses symbolize love?" asked Jess.

"Yes, sort of," answered Emily "but the type of rose and the color matters too." She gave a wistful sigh, "I used to love to tend the flowerbeds when I was a child. Our flat has nowhere for a garden, only potted plants."

"I don't really know a lot about gardens," Abby responded, "I would really love it if you would show me how to take care of it properly." Emily was nodding eagerly, her eyes glowing.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

Lester and his family also stopped by, with yet another house warming gift. They were on their way to take their children to the theater. Lester had said something about his youngest daughter being enamored of fairies and Midsummer Night's Dream was playing… time for cultural enlightenment and all that.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

Jess had given Abby another cooking lesson. The other women had chopped the vegetables; together they had created a hearty stew.

As the dining table was covered with boxes, everyone had gathered round the big old stove in the kitchen to ladle themselves some stew and grab a biscuit… or two. Abby chuckled as she looked out the kitchen window into the small garden area. She thought Jess and Becker looked very cozy sitting together at the wrought iron bistro table. Matt and Emily were sitting together in the grass, their bowls forgotten, as they knelt over the plants… it looked like they were weeding.

Abby noticed Connor juggling his bowl and hot biscuits and went to his aid. She managed to rescue the bowl before he spilled it entirely, and guided him to a stool.

"Sit," she urged, "you need to keep your weight off that ankle."

He sat down with a sigh of relief, "Yeah," he agreed "but I need to eat too."

From where they were, they could see out into the garden and into the living room. Abby leaned in close to him and whispered, "Look," nodding in the direction of the couples outside.

Connor nodded his head at the sight. "No surprise there," he replied with a smile. But then he directed her attention to the stairs. Duncan and Edie were sitting there, talking animatedly. Abby raised her eyebrows at the sight of the pair. Hmm… who would have thought? She remembered something.

"Connor, would you like to go to yoga with me next week?"

"What?" he looked up at her clearly startled, "would I be the only bloke there?"

Abby narrowed her eyes, "No," she said "Julian and Leonard go every week. I just thought it might be something you'd like… keeps you limber," she encouraged. "Edie says it helps her get the kinks out after being at the keyboard all week."

Connor was still looking at her uncertainly. "You could invite a friend," she wheedled, nodding her head in Duncan's direction.

Oh. Connor grinned, "Yeah."

Connor turned his head at the sound of a lilting laugh. He began to frown a little. Turning to see what had caught his attention, Abby saw Hendricks and Stephenson seated on the living room floor next to Connor's sister. The threesome were talking and laughing about something that Abby couldn't quite make out. It looked perfectly innocent. What had Connor frowning?

"What," she whispered to him, "they're just talking."

"They're too old for her," he grumbled "best not get any ideas."

"Connor," Abby soothed "don't worry, I'll teach her how to kickbox."

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

The anomaly alert call came through when they were serving cake, breaking up the fun.

Matt and Emily opened the doors to the ARCs SUV that Matt had parked by the moving van, calling for Becker, Hendricks and Stephenson to join them.

Hendricks and Stephenson hastily climbed into the broad back seat, while Emily joined Matt in the front. Becker was fumbling with his pockets, "Ah, there," he said withdrawing the keys to the moving van. Turning to Abby, he handed her the keys and said "It's all unloaded, but you'll need to take the van back to the storage facility."

Connor hobbled up to join Abby at that moment. "What do you mean?" he said indignantly, "We're coming with you."

Becker turned to look at Connor impatiently, "No you're not, you can hardly walk now, can you?"

Matt stuck his head out the window of the SUV, "Connor, research only… remember?"

Jess and Connor's sister took that moment to walk past Becker and start getting into her car.

"Where are you two going?" Becker asked sternly.

"The ARC," responded Jess "where else?"

"The trainee's on duty this shift now," he replied.

"Do you really think I'm going to trust that… that…" she shook her head "person with the anomaly detector during an alert?" She got into the car, shut the door quickly and turned on the ignition.

Connor just stared, mouth gaping as his little sister climbed in beside Jess. "But, but… why does she get to go?"

Jess looked at him sharply, "Because I invited her of course." Putting the car in gear, they roared off towards the ARC.

Becker climbed into the SUV, alongside Hendricks and Stephenson. Turning to Abby, before closing the door he said "Keep him out of trouble."


	5. Conflagration

**Disclaimer: Primeval does not belong to me, this is fan fiction, not for profit.**

**Any references to people, places, businesses etc is entirely fictitious.**

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

As Matt and the rest of the team drove off towards the anomaly, Becker's words "Keep him out of trouble," were ringing in Abby's ears. She watched him limping up the steps towards their door, then she hurried after him.

"Connor," she called, but he didn't slow down. Entering their home, he made his way to the closet and started digging through his messenger bag.

Duncan and Edie were coming out of the kitchen. Duncan was still carrying his plate with a half eaten slice of cake on it.

"Connor," said Abby "what do you think you're doing?"

He pulled out a hand held anomaly detector from his bag before shouldering it, then turned to face her. "There's an anomaly open out there. What do you think I'm doing?"

"But Connor, you can hardly walk…"

He looked at the keys to the moving van that she was still holding in her hands. Then he looked directly in her eyes. "Are you with me?" And then he was out the door and moving down the steps, before she could even answer his question.

Duncan and Edie looked at each other in consternation. "We should go," said Duncan.

Abby looked at him in dismay, not sure whether he wanted to go with Connor or go home. Duncan might want to help, but really… more civilians in the area of an open anomaly made it more dangerous, for everyone.

"Duncan, no," she said quickly. "I need your help here. Please…" she begged him "my brother is running late, he should be here by now. Would you please stay and let him in for me? I'll go with Connor… you stay here."

Without giving Duncan the chance to disagree, she ran out the door.

Edie looked at Duncan, "So you're a dinosaur hunter?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said a little defiantly, "what of it?"

"Cool," she replied grinning at him. She looked around the room, surveying the mess left in the sudden exodus of their friends. "We might as well make ourselves useful while we're waiting for Jack to show up," she continued "are you any good at dishes?"

Duncan blinked. She was going to stay, with him, while he waited for Jack? A smile spread across his face.

"I'm a champion dishwasher."

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

"Connor," called Abby as she jumped down the steps to the sidewalk, "wait up, I'm coming with you."

He stopped abruptly at her words. Then he turned to look at her with that smile on his face, the smile that was just for her. "Good," he said simply "let's take the van then, yeah."

"Yeah."

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

In the darkened theater, the woman's cell phone vibrated. She quickly looked at the text, then snapped it shut.

"James," she whispered to the man sitting beside her "anomaly alert, I've got to go…"

Lester turned to look at his wife in concern, "It's started then?"

She gave him a small smile and nodded. Then looking past her husband, she drew his attention to the three children seated beside him. The girls were leaning forward, intently watching the play. Their son, was leaned back in his seat, mouth open and chin quivering a little.

"If you don't wake him soon, he'll be snoring," she said.

"Hmm," grumbled Lester, half seriously and half in jest, "and when you think of the price of those tickets… don't want him missing the play." But he made no move to wake the boy.

Turning to look at his wife, he gazed into her dark brown eyes, searching for reassurance. "After the show, I'll take them to the flat. We'll have dinner in, and tomorrow after breakfast we'll all return home, together," he said in that tone he used when he expected to get exactly what he wanted.

She smiled, knowing it wasn't a sure thing at all. The work they did was dangerous.

"Yes love," she agreed.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

Abby cranked the ignition in the van, and started driving. She turned the vehicle as she listened to Connor giving directions. "What street?" she asked in surprise.

He repeated the name again. "That's near the theater district," she said, remembering where Lester and his family had been headed. She could tell by looking at him, that Connor remembered also.

"I know," he replied "we'll just have to make sure the anomaly is locked before any of the shows start letting out…"

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

Matt was worried.

It should have been a simple task, lock the anomaly and contain the creatures… both prehistoric and cosmopolitan. However, a London tourist had been a little too eager to see the triceratops. Crowding forward with his eyes on his camera, the man hadn't watched where he stepped.

"Jess," he spoke into his com link, "we're gonna need another locking device."

The voice of Connor's sister answered him, "Jess is checking the store room, she told me to tell you she'd be right back."

"What?"

"She said Bravo team is out on the far side of North Weald Basset, they've got the back up locking device. It will be around an hour before they can get back."

"Where's their locking device?" asked Matt indignantly.

"I think she said the Admiral still had it… something about trying to get the Vikings off the coast of Cornwall to go back… and wanting to make sure they stayed in their own time…"

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

Abby slowed the van as she approached the intersection at Charing Cross Road, "Which way?" she asked.

Connor was looking at his hand held anomaly detector with a puzzled expression. "Well, the one Matt, Becker and the rest went to is over there," he said pointing to the right.

As Abby started to turn the wheel, he added "But the new one, is over there." He pointed left. They looked at each other. Abby turned the moving van to the left.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

"Matt," called Jess breathlessly. "Matt, are you there?"

"Yes Jess," he replied.

"There are no more spares in the storage room."

Matt groaned, containing these creatures until Bravo team arrived was going to take more than just the five of them… especially with more people coming out to gawk.

"But that's not all," continued Jess. "There's another anomaly four blocks south… it just opened up."

Matt groaned again.

Becker came up just then. Looking at the damaged locking device he said, "You know, if we had brought Connor, he could have fixed this thing."

"Yeah," Matt agreed. "Jess, try Connor and Abby's cell phone… they're closer than Bravo team and we need to get this locked." Then he thought, we'll deal with the other anomaly.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

Lester's wife watched as Abby and Connor pulled up to park the moving van. They stepped out and turned towards the darkened costume supply building. The sound of a phone ringing could be heard in the night air.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_


	6. Fire

**Disclaimer: Primeval does not belong to me, this is fan fiction, not for profit.**

**Any references to people, places, businesses etc is entirely fictitious.**

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

They had barely taken two steps toward the costume supply warehouse when Connor's cell phone started ringing.

"Matt," answered Connor in surprise.

"Connor," said Matt "we need you to get down here right now."

"What did you say there Matt?" asked Connor as a grin spread across his face. "I'm turning up the volume so I can hear you better." He thumbed the volume control with one hand, while the other did a fist pump. Abby looked at him, as she heard Matt repeating his request and snorted. If Connor's ankle wasn't sprained, he probably would have been jumping up and down she thought.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

Lester's wife approached the pair. Abby was the first to notice her arrival, the click of the woman's stilettos on the pavement sounded ominously like claws she thought.

Connor closed his cell phone with a click and started to speak, "We need…"

"To get back with the others," interrupted the tall, slender brunette.

Connor blinked with surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Anomaly alert," the woman responded "that is our job you know. Pointing in the direction away from the costume supply building, she continued "Let's go."

Connor turned in the direction she pointed and started limping down the street. She called after him, "Connor."

He stopped and turned to look at her. She looked pointedly at his ankle. "Perhaps we should take the van," she suggested with a weary sigh.

"Oh, yeah… right."

Abby watched as the pair climbed into the moving van. Connor had been right all those weeks ago she thought. There was no way Mrs. Lester could be Helen Cutter. Mrs. Lester was a good bit taller, almost as tall as Connor.

Abby climbed into the driver's seat of the van, started it up and turned around heading back to where Matt and the others were. They were about a block away, when they heard the roar of an explosion. Glass shattered from the windows of the costume supply warehouse as it burst into flame.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

Becker, Hendricks and Stephenson were trying to herd the triceratops back down the narrow street towards the anomaly with careful shots of their EMDs, but the creature wasn't in the mood to cooperate. Trapped between the tall buildings, the creature kept twisting and turning its head seeking an escape route. Matt watched as Emily moved the SUV to block the left side street somewhat.

"Where are they Jess," he asked impatiently into the comm device.

"Don't know," she said worriedly "an explosion just blew out the video feed… I can't tell…"

Matt felt his stomach lurch. No, it couldn't…

The rumble of a moving van pulling up behind him stopped his worries. He gave a sigh of relief as he saw Abby, then Connor step out of the van, and was that Lester's wife he thought in surprise.

Directing Connor at the damaged anomaly locking device, he asked "Can you get it working?"

Connor didn't answer, but knelt by the machine and reached into his messenger bag. Withdrawing some tools, he began making adjustments.

Abby spoke, "Matt, do you have another EMD. I'll go help Becker and the others." She watched as the triceratops stepped sideways, its tail thrashing angrily.

Matt shook his head, "No Abby, we are still short of supplies since the convergence. See if you can turn the van sideways to block off this street… then we'll have it cornered." She nodded quickly and went to move the vehicle.

Looking at the brunette, Matt added "Maybe you should go get in the van with Abby, it'll be safer."

She raised her eyebrows in surprise at his words. "Don't be ridiculous," she replied withdrawing a weapon from her beaded handbag. She stepped to stand behind Connor, who was oblivious to her presence. He was still tightening wires back on to the circuitry of the damaged machine. Matt thought the woman looked almost like a sentry, or a bodyguard... He shook his head and walked towards Emily, he was going to be in position with her to make sure the triceratops turned to go back into the anomaly.

A sudden roar turned his attention back to the angry triceratops. It had turned in frustration and started running, directly towards the anomaly locking device… and Connor. The young man looked up, his eyes wide in realization of his sudden peril.

The woman fired.

The repeating sound of the automatic was lost in the death roars of the triceratops. The huge creature staggered, stumbled and fell. Its momentum continued to slide the body across the pavement until it came to a stop, mere inches from Connor and the anomaly locking device.

"Have you got that machine fixed yet," the woman asked Connor in a testy voice. "We don't want whatever was trying to eat that creature for dinner coming through you know."

A loud screech came from the anomaly. Connor gulped and then nodded in agreement. He knew he didn't want to see whatever made that noise. He pressed some buttons. The anomaly shimmered brightly, then closed.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

Matt watched as the woman walked away. She had said something about dinner, and just left. Becker came up behind him.

"Did you hear that," he asked Matt watching the woman's departure with a perplexed frown on his face.

"Yeah," Matt replied. They both knew the sound of that weapon, and it definitely wasn't standard issue… not anywhere.

"Matt, Becker," called Jess over the comm "would you tell Abby and Connor that his sister is coming to stay the night at my flat."

"Yeah Jess, I'll tell them," replied Matt. "We'll be here a while longer, but you two might as well go on, and let the trainee earn his pay."

"You're sounding like Lester," she admonished him before signing off.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

Abby was very carefully not, absolutely not, looking at the creature that was so close to Connor. She smiled down at him, trying to control the tremble in her lips. Reaching out a hand to help him up, she said "Let's go home, yeah."

"Yeah," he agreed with a smile.

In the distance, the sound of a fire truck siren could be heard, headed towards the burning warehouse no doubt.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

Abby parked the moving van in front of their home. She helped Connor get out and let him lean on her as they slowly walked up the sidewalk to the steps. Duncan and Edie opened the door to let them in.

"Jack?" she asked the pair.

Edie shook her head. Duncan was more vocal, "Haven't seen him," he said. "But look," he continued excitedly "I've got the telly hooked up and the game station…" his voice trailed off as he realized how exhausted the pair looked.

Edie was now talking to Abby. "A couple came by while you were out… Jenny and Michael… they left you something… I put it in the fridge. Also, the rest of the stew is in there if you want to heat it up… and," she leaned in to whisper "I put sheets on the bed for you."

Abby smiled at her friend, "You didn't have to do all that…" she started.

"Oh," scoffed Edie "it was nothing."

"We'll just be going now," said Duncan "let you get settled. Busy day and all…" he added hopefully, "maybe another time, we can get together for Babylon 5."

Connor gave a small nod, as he leaned back against the wall.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

Abby shut the door behind Duncan and Edie, and turned to look at Connor.

"Do you want me to get you some paracetamol?" she asked. "Or some dinner?" She shivered a little, the spring night was rapidly cooling.

Connor looked at her, "Both sound good," he said gratefully. "Are you chilly?"

She nodded.

He glanced at the table, still covered with boxes. She followed his gaze as it travelled back across their home, to the door of the small study. She could just barely see the fireplace from where she was standing.

"How about I get a fire going," he suggested "we could have a picnic…"

She smiled, "I'll get the food… meet you…"

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

In the kitchen, Abby stared. Edie and Duncan had done much more than just put leftovers in the fridge. The dishes were washed and stacked neatly in the drain, the counters were scrubbed and the pots were hung from their hooks ready for their next use. She smiled in appreciation, then searched for the paracetamol. She couldn't find it.

Well, she thought, dinner would have to do. She opened the refrigerator to get the stew out, and saw the bottle that Jenny and Michael had left. Hmmm, that might be a good idea.

The rain, which had been holding off all day, started a gentle, steady drizzle.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

Connor was sitting on the rug in front of the fireplace when she came in carrying the tray. Two bowls of leftover stew, some biscuits and a bottle of champagne.

"Where did that come from," asked Connor in surprise.

"Jenny and Michael," she replied "stopped by while we were out." She set the tray down on the rug beside the hearth. The fire gave a little crackle and she sniffed appreciatively. The warmth was already starting to permeate the room.

Abby handed Connor the bottle. Neither one of them drank much, but a glass of champagne to celebrate sounded like a good idea to both of them tonight. The sound of a pop and the froth of bubbly had them giggling together. Connor filled their glasses.

"A toast to our new home and…" he said. She nodded, then leaned in to hear the rest of his whispered words. She smiled and leaned even closer to kiss him. But he placed a hand out to stay her. He pulled a small box out of his pocket.

"Abby," he started "I meant to give you this earlier in the morning, but Jess and me sister got here before…" He opened the box for her to see. He heard the quick intake of her breath, and looked up into her eyes. The sparkle in her eyes was even brighter than the sparkle in the box. He reached out for her hand, and slid the ring on her finger.

She leaned in closer, definitely intending to kiss him, but she forgot about his ankle. He hissed in pain when she jarred his leg.

"Connor, let's get your boots off," she said "I want to see that ankle."

He snorted, "Now that sounds like a line, doesn't it? Next thing, you'll be wanting to see me legs."

They both smiled, remembering that long ago time in the cretaceous. The unpacking of boxes and arranging of things in their new home would be something that Abby and Connor would enjoy doing over the next several days, but tonight they had better things to do.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

Jack came up the steps and knocked on the front door. It was late, later than he had expected, and he was soaked from the rain.

He knocked again. Couldn't they hear him. Didn't they know to open the door and let him in. Really, how inconsiderate.

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_


End file.
